TIFF: Quality films flowed in Toronto at TIFF 2019

Ed Symkus More Content Now

Monday

Sep 16, 2019 at 2:16 PM

TIFF 2019 has wrapped, and I managed to catch a good chunk of it, seeing 13 feature films, conducting a bunch of interviews, and waiting in long lines - yes, even critics have to wait in lines - to see some of those films. And, OK, I made it to one good ’ole drinking party.

Sunday’s announcement that the TIFF People’s Choice Award - for the film most voted favorite by public audiences - was “Jojo Rabbit” made me feel pretty good, as it was also mine.

In fact, unlike past years at the fest, where I knew immediately that one or two of the movies I caught would never open, I was quite happy with every one of this year’s batch. So, here’s what I saw and some thoughts on them. (Note: My full reviews of “Hustlers” and “The Goldfinch” have already been published, so I’ll stick with the other 11 films.)

“The Aeronauts” - Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones (co-stars in “The Theory of Everything”) are back together as real-life scientist/meteorologist James Glaisher and fictional Amelia Wren, who join forces in 19th century England to break a height record for ballooning. The actual person who went up with Glaisher was Henry Coxwell, who has been erased from history by idiots in Hollywood just to put a woman in the role. Still, it’s an enjoyable, well-made film.

“And We Go Green” - It’s a documentary about Formula E racing, considered by some in racing circles to be a poor man’s Formula One, as the drivers are all in electric cars, which are silent, except for screeching tires. But they can definitely move, achieving speeds of 220 kph. It’s a sports film, a science film, and a biographical look at many of the competitors.

“Jojo Rabbit” - The ideal situation would be to see this film without knowing much about it, as its oddness is what makes it work. I loved it, most folks I’ve spoken with loved it, a couple said they were offended by it. The film has a serious subject - the Holocaust. But it’s a comedy - of sorts - about a young Nazi-worshipping boy coming of age in Austria toward the end of WWII. Hitler is presented as an advice-giving idiot.

“Jungleland” - In a film that would’ve perfectly fit in with the gritty American indie cinema of the 1970s, scrappy boxer Lion (Jack O’Connell) and his ne’er-do-well big brother manager Stanley (Charlie Hunnam) make their way along the bare-knuckle fighting circuit, with mobsters on their trail and a crazy young woman (Jessica Barden) complicating things.

“The Lighthouse” - In the mid-1800s a nasty old salt (Willem Dafoe) and an angry guy who can’t catch a break (Robert Pattinson) spend a four-week shift together in an isolated lighthouse. They turn out to be proof that opposites don’t necessarily attract. Shot in blacks and whites and grays, the film features superb acting, lots of arguing, a mermaid, a giant storm, a suggestion that it’s bad luck to kill a seabird and a sudden shift into surrealism.

“Parasite” - Director Bong Joon-Ho (“The Host,” “Snowpiercer”) gives us a contemporary South Korean story about a poor family that lives in a basement, and a rich family that lives in a home designed by an architect, and how the poor family schemes to get to live in the nicer home. There’s also a surprise in the basement of the nice home.

“The Personal History of David Copperfield” - Dev Patel plays the lead man in a comic version of the Dickens book. It’s still about a young lad growing up and making his way in the world by meeting all sorts of oddball characters, but it moves along at a rapid clip and is kind of a hoot.

“The Report” - After 9/11, when leaks of CIA-run torture sessions on suspected terrorists came to light, Senate staffer Dan Jones (Adam Driver) began investigating Dick Cheney’s Detention and Interrogation Program and how the agency tried to cover it up. This is the infuriating story of what Jones went through to get to the truth. With Annette Bening as Senator Dianne Feinstein.

“Seberg” - Kristin Stewart plays Jean Seberg, the French actress who made a splash in the 1950s and ’60s with films including “Breathless.” Among the things that I didn’t know is that she was from Iowa, and at the height of her career she became involved - politically and romantically - with someone in the Black Panthers. The FBI didn’t like that, so decided to ruin her career.

“True History of the Kelly Gang” - Mick Jagger played the notorious 19th century Aussie robber Ned Kelly in the 1960s. Heath Ledger played him about 15 years ago. Now the role, though extremely fictionalized, is owned - and played best - by George Mackay. Russell Crowe is fat and does some singing as another robber. Charlie Hunnam and Nicholas Hoult are also aboard in this Australian Western.